VMI 2021 Carbon Audit Shows 9% CO2 reduction Our second annual carbon audit of 2021 is complete and demonstrates that VMI has reduced its total carbon emissions, according to the Science-Based Target Initiative from 234TCO2e to 213TCO2e, a reduction of 8.9% compared to the 2019 baseline, on target with our net-zero by 2030 strategy. We only started our formal net-zero journey mid 2021, so this is a terrific result since many of our initiatives had yet to be completed. The breakdown of each Scope emissions are as follows Scope 1 emissions had reduced from 54TCO2e to 37.6TCO2e Scope 2 emissions also reduced from 13TCO2e to nil, as all electricity for 2021 was using exclusively green tariffs. Scope 3 (excluding CapEx purchases), increased from 167TCO2e to 175TCO2e Some of the increase in scope 3 emissions can be attributed to a greater detail of measurement, such as a detailed analysis of employees commuting, which was not undertaken in 2019. Our commitment is to publish our results every year, so view the full report here.
VMI’s Latest LED lights to join our fleet Lighting This is a short article to profile the very latest modern low-energy lighting fixtures that we have added to our fleet, most of which will be available to see at our 2022 lighting workshops.
Bristol Building 10.6KW Solar PV Installation VMI’s Bristol building has been fitted with a 10.6KW Solar PV array, to provide the majority of it’s power requirements. As part of this initiative, we have also replaced all lighting in Bristol facility with known Lumens/Watts-rated LED lights, to match Acton. This has reduced light-caused energy consumption by up to 90%. Even with EVs, 10.6KW is a lot more power than the Bristol branch is likely to use except at peak times and since our surplus is now being sold to the grid, we will in some small way help fortify Britain’s green power generation. Click here to see before and after pictures!
Bristol Solar PV cuts power use by 56% Amazingly, Bristol’s Sola PV installation has cut their power use by more than half (56%), though the pictures tell the full story though! (Data from Octopus energy readings taken 25-April – 22 May but excluding 13 May when the installation was in progress). Previous daily average (18.92KWh. After installation, daily average reduced to 8.31KWh. Reduction of 10.61KWh per day of electricity use from grid or 56.1%)
VMI London has 10KW of Solar Panels Installed In May 2022, in spite of having a 100% green electricity tariff since 2018, VMI installed 10KW of solar panels to its London HQ to generate most of its own power. With rising energy prices and fleet of electric vans coming, this looks like a good move to make.
Environmental Grant won from West of England Combined Authority and European Regional Development Fund 50% Funding for environmental improvements to Bristol was sought and approved from the West of England Combined Authority and European Regional Development Fund. They helped to fund improvements to Bristol’s building for:• replacing existing fluorescent lighting with LED equivalents;• applying insulation above false ceiling.• replacing single-glazed rooflights with triple-glazed equivalents;• and a solar photovoltaic (PV) array. Website Link
VMI is voted one of the UK’s Best Workplaces Having achieved a Great Place To Work certification for VMI, we were invited to enter the UK’s Greatest Workplace Awards and were delighted to be officially ranked 62 as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces …more
VMI is Infinity’s Prime UK Rental House Lenses VMI has a long-standing relationship with Infinity Photo-Optical who makes the Infiniprobe TS160 probe lenses. Barry Bassett, VMI’s Managing Director, has been recognised as being their ‘Nelsonian Award’ winner back … Read more
VMI donates full ARRI camera kit to West London College West London College is proud to announce a significant partnership with camera rental company, VMI, who supply camera packages to the TV Industry for dramas, feature films, documentaries, music videos and more. The partnership will ensure students on media courses at Ealing Green College will have access to cutting-edge equipment, with VMI donating a full ARRI digital camera kit, worth £100,000, to the college. The camera kit is still used in industry production and this particular camera was most recently used for shooting season 22 of ITV’s “Midsomer Murders” in summer 2021, which is due to continue airing throughout 2022. …more
The Creative and Technical Differences between Full Frame and S-35 Cinematography Introduction Film making has always had ‘pinch points’ of innovation, some of them more successful than others and in recent history more often than not driven by the retail thrust … Read more
VMI E-BIKE SCHEME OPEN DAY HELD VMI held a BLIKE open day in April for our staff to try out the full range of E-Bikes available to lease from BLIKE. The scheme has been set up as an alternative to the existing Cycle-to-Work scheme, to personally lease E-Bikes as a healthier and cost-effective way of commuting and which is also very tax-efficient. I can personally attest to these bikes also being a LOT of fun!
Bristol Building Roof Insulation and Triple-Glazed Roof Lights Fitted We replaced the single-glazed roof lights with triple glazed (U-value 1.6) and sprayed foam insulation to the underside of the steel roof of our Bristol building to improve its thermal efficiency.. These two initiatives are predicted to save 6.6T CO2 per year.
VMI Awarded Ealing Business Pioneers To Promote Sustainable Lighting Use In Film and TV VMI has been awarded an Ealing Business Pioneers grant to help fund running in-person courses to spread awareness of the benefits and advantages of the latest LED lighting technology. The grant will be used to promote high efficiency lighting technologies which can help to reduce power and energy toward climate sustainability goals. Read more
Area 51 Incident delivers horror thrills from the Abyss Large Sensor Cinematography Horror fans will devour Area 51 Incident. The new movie from genre specialists Dark Abyss Productions imagines an alien species landing on earth to make it their new home and to commit … Read more
We publish updated VMI Environmental and Sustainability Policy We updated our Environmental and Sustainability Policy and uploaded it here. We strongly believe in the power of community and continues to share ideas and solutions that inspire wider industry action and in June 2021, we committed to becoming a net zero organisation by 2030 and to halve its carbon emissions by 2025 using 2019 as the baseline year. These aren’t just words, so we have backed them up with a commitment to promote a plant-based diet and giving staff an additional annual day’s leave, if they haven’t used an aeroplane in the previous year for personal use. Download VMI Environmental and Sustainability Policy Document
VMI Sponsors KIFF Film Festival VMI loves to support new entrants to the industry and is proud to be a partner of a brand new film festival in June, which aims to celebrate a diverse … Read more
VMI replaces all Sachtler Video-18 & 20 Tripods to latest Flowtech Design Grip VMI has replaced its entire fleet of Sachtler Video 20 tripods to the latest Sachtler Video 20S1 heads with the newly designed Sachtler Flowtech 100 legs, since they are faster to setup, are lighter, easier to carry and offer greater stability.
WORKING RESOLUTION: CONSIDERATIONS & BEST PRACTICES Cameras, Media, DIT and Streaming Netflix have published a very useful article, which takes an in depth look at the concept of a working resolution and outlines the best practices for image scaling throughout the production lifecycle…
VMI stops stocking Polyboards and pioneers sustainable replacement Polyboards are horribly unsustainable and their size makes them difficult to dispose of, so we have found a practical sustainable alternative and have stopped supplying the originals. The new Lastolite Rapids are even more versatile than the original, as we supply them with a variety of covers including black, white, silver and diffusion and can be easily assembled in 60 seconds.They can be reused over and over and even fit into a car – try that with an 8×8 poly!
Camera Technicians Apprentice Scheme Builds on Successful First Year The new Apprenticeship Standard for Camera Prep Technicians is looking to expand after a successful first season launch. Last summer, nine trainees became the first cohort of apprentices to participate … Read more
VMI is Double Winner at 2022 West London Business Awards VMI Named West London Company of the Year For Leading On Climate Change The actions and leadership of VMI and its Managing Director in galvanizing the industry around net zero targets have been recognised by West London Business. VMI have won two prestigious awards at the West London Business Awards. It is named West London Company of the Year 2022 while MD Barry Bassett won Business Leader of the Year. Read More
Company Food Poll What kind of company polls their staff to see what food they would like to eat for catered events? We do! In February 2022, we polled the entire VMI staff and overwhelmingly, people asked us to provide them with predominantly vegetarian food. Interestingly, only one person voted for a 100% meat diet, though they admitted that this had been a mistake (they were vegetarian!) We have now adopted the results of the poll so all food supplied by VMI from now on will be in the proportions of 70% vegetarian, 30% meat, in line with staff wishes.
VMI GROUP RECYCLES 100% OF WASTE – 2021 CERTIFIED Since 2019, as part of our annual carbon audit, we audit our waste every year to confirm that our waste reduction plan is working. For the entire 2021, just as in 2019, we were able to divert everything we didn’t need any more to be fully recycled or composted, making us 100% landfill-free!! Click here to read the 2021 reports.
Launch of VMI Microsite to show 20-year Sustainability Journey Not many people know that we have been working for almost 20 years to make VMI into a more sustainable and socially equitable company. We are totally committed to becoming a Net-Zero company by 2030 have launched a microsite to share our journey.
VMI Donates Lights for Student Training VMI has partnered with Bristol-based college, boomsatsuma, donating a range of lighting equipment for BA Hons Filmmaking Production and Post-production degree student skills development, Jan 2021. Degree students based at … Read more